Cheese!
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: A small act of kindness can go a long way. A long way indeed... KazukiXRin, my favorite Maburaho couple!
1. Cheese!

Shikimori…" a voice intoned. The bewildered voice called his attention.

"Rin." He whispered as he saw her sprawled on her rear in the center of the isle, and looking up at him, a light blush on her lovely face. "Are you alright?" He said as he got himself up to his feet and offered her a hand.

She composed herself immediately when his eyes hit hers. She saw him offer his hand, and turned her shoulder to meet it coldly. "I'm fine." She said, and got to her feet. "Really, it's just like you to not watch where you're going." She continued sternly.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." He sighed and nodded. A long silent moment passed and he pushed himself forward in the conversation forcefully. " So anyways...What are you doing here so late?"

The secret thrill that had started in her as soon as she'd seen him grew, and she forced herself no to smile. "I could ask the same thing of you." She said coldly, not giving anything away.

He chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well, I was awake and couldn't find anything I wanted to eat in the house." He said, hiding his hand behind his head nervously, then noticed the small package that lay on the floor. "Eh?" He bent to pick it up. "What's this? Is this yours Rin?" He offered the beaten box of cheese-nips to her as he straightened himself up.

Now her face flushed in an instant, and she strangled the emotions that welled in her. "I-I don't know what you're talking a-about. That's not something I would ever eat." She said, then, grabbed the package from his hand and moved quickly to the counter. Confused, He followed, not quite knowing what else to do.

The man behind the register rang the snack up and relayed the total. "There ya go. Have a nice day." Rin nodded and reached into the folds of her costume and stopped dead. _'Uh-oh.'_ It wasn't there. She checked the other fold. _'Not good.' _Nothing. She searched back in her mind and could see her small coin purse sitting atop her bureau in her mind. She could feel her face turn the exact shade of a tomato and her eyes dropped to the floor as her chest concaved to hide her as much of her body as she could from the light.

Kazuki blinked, then pushed his tea and pretzels onto the counter, not understanding her predicament. "These too, please." He said, getting his wallet out and paying the cashier the desired amount with a smile as the man to the money.

Rin stood befuddled as he collected his things from the counter. _'Why did he just pay for me..._ She made no move whatsoever to pick up the box of cheese-nips she'd suffered so much embarrassment to procure. STILL not getting it, Kazuki reached out and grabbed them, then handed them to her. "Here ya go."

"T-Thank y-you."

He turned to leave and she followed behind him, nodding to him as he held the door open for her. "Thanks." They walked silently together for a time as Rin struggled with her emotions. It wasn't fair what he did to her, she thought. It wasn't fair what fate made her endure. It wasn't as if…

She fell in on herself and looked away. She couldn't lie to herself about how fast her heart was beating. "What…" she blurted out, catching his attention. "I mean… Where is Yuna?"

She noticed his eyes drop to the ground. "She's at home." He said simply. A moment passed as they walked, and he shifted his burden to open his tea and take a drink. He looked around and saw her walking slightly behind him. "I'm sorry, do you want a drink?" he said, offering her the bottle.

Her heart thumped in her chest. His lips had touched it. "No!" she cried aloud, then blushed as she calmed herself.

He smirked nervously, realizing just what his words might have implied. "Yeah," he continued, not knowing what else to do. "She's at home." But a wistful note had etched its way into his voice as he spoke. "I woke up and found that I didn't have anything in the house to snack on. Yuna doesn't think about snacks when she buys the groceries. She likes to cook, you know, and I don't really. I'm just no good at that sort of thing I guess. It just seems like a whole lot of work for so little." For just me, he wanted to say, but couldn't.

Rin forced herself to respond through the cloud of emotions that ran through her. "I don't think she likes to cook so much as maybe… maybe she just wants to take care of you I suppose."

He smiled softly at that. Perhaps she had a point there. "Yeah, I guess she does." He said, looking down at the bottle of tea in his hand. Wasn't that enough? He thought. Did there have to be more than that?

"Besides." Rin continued sternly. "Snacking between meals is bad for you."

Kazuki smiled, thinking of what Yuna would do when she'd found out he'd bought something as non-nutritional as pretzels. _'But I made your favorite for lunch! You'll spoil your appetite, and you need all your strength right now!'_

He sighed aloud and stretched his arms out despite that fact. A great smile grew across his face. Maybe it was good enough. For now it was good enough just to be close to her. He peeked over his shoulder as he dropped his arms. Rin had huddled the box of cheese-nips to her chest so as no one could see the label. "Bad for you, eh?"

Rin caught where his eyes peered and blushed, then jutted out her chin stubbornly, still arguing her case. "I'll have you know these are for a friend!"

He chuckled, then he couldn't help himself, and then began to laugh earnestly.

Again she blushed and smirked. "I get a craving for them every once in a while." She finally said softly.

His laughter expelled, he sighed aloud and wiped the water from his eyes. "It's alright. Don't worry so much about it. I'm just glad to see your human just like me."

She frowned and turned away. But they'd shared something, and it made her heart glow with warmth at the knowledge.

They walked for a while, and she opened her grip on the box and looked at it, then at him. Then she offered it to him shyly. "Would… would you like some?"

He pulled his eyes away from the road and met hers. In that moment, like so many others, she felt her heart come closer to being set on him. He smiled and nodded, and it made her heart skip a beat. She felt alive. Gloriously, wonderously alive. "Sure. Ah! White cheddar! My favorite!"

She smiled brightly at this, releasing her usually cold demeanor around him. "I'm glad...

He paused between eating, and swallowed what was in his mout."Hm? Whuzzat?"

"I'm glad you like them."

Then all too soon, she saw that they had arrived at her house. And he could not help but notice that she gave off a sad sigh of dissapointment, that they had arrived already. "I'll-I'll see you tomorrow...

"Oi. Rin-chan." She turned round at the mention of her name, hoping, daring to believe that-

And her lips met his, her bright violet eyes going wide from the unexpected kiss. And it was over in an instant, before she could even close her eyes, leaving her to wonder if it had even happend. But judging from the look on his face, and his wide goofy grin, she realized that it had been real.

And he smiled warmly at her as he gave her back her snack, deliberately brushinf his nose against hers, as he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, before slowly turning and walking away, calling out to her over his shoulder. "And I'll see YOU tomorrow. And whenever you want to see me."

Then he said no more, and slowly walked off, in the direction of his own home.

Leaving a exuberant Rin to experience the warm fuzzy feelings that came with her first kiss...


	2. On the Way to School

An elated Rin sank down against the back of her bedroom door, a hand to her blushing face as she closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh, allowing her long purple hair to fall over her face. She didn't care. She was too overwhelmed with joy over what had just happened. "He kissed me... He really kissed me! Kazuki-san really kissed me!"

With another giggled of happiness, she set about making herself dinner, and preparing her lunch for the next day, her joy shouting down all the doubts and protests that usually welled up in her mind as she skipped about the room in bliss.

What would tomorrow bring? She would have to wait and see.

And she was PRAYING that this all wasn't just a dream...

--

Kazuki sighed as he opened the door to his home, ignoring Yuna's hello, raising his hand in greeting as he pretended to stagger to his room, saying that he was tired, and wanted to go to bed. "Goodnight Yuna, and NO i didn't do anything stupid." _'I did something really smart..._

Locking the door behind him, and being sure to seal it with some of his magic, only THEN did he allow the smile to appear on his face as he mumbled the words, softly. "Ah...She's so sweet...Rin-chan...

Things were certainly going to be interesting tomorrow.

--

Rin, now clad in her school uniform, instead of her usual costume was waiting at the light to cross, on her way to school, when she finally saw Kazuki who did not see her yet. "There he is... He was on the other side of the cross walk, leaning against the pole of the traffic light, and reading a book, as it seemed like he was waiting for someone. Then as the light turned green, Rin realized who that person was.

He was waiting for her.

She had kept him waiting! He would be angry!

Quickly, she walked across the street, and just as she was less than a foot away from him, he closed his book and turned his head to the right to smile at her, making her heart skip a beat as he revealed his other hand, which held another bottle of green tea, which was half full, indicating that he had obviously already drank some of it. His words, as always made her blush as she angled her head down, not looking him in the eye as he spoke. "Hey Rin-chan-

She spoke a million words a second, apologizing for keeping him waiting for her. "Sorrysorrysorryimsosorry!"

In response he offered her his tea, as he ran a hand through her purple hair, sending an electric shiver down her spine as he did so. " Don't be sorry. I was just reading a really good book. Thirsty?"

Unlike last time, she was VERY thirsty, as the hot sun beet down on them, and this time she did not refuse his offer, hesitantly unscrewing the lid and taking a sip, which made him smile warmly at her as she drained the tea to nearly empty. "Its a hot day isn't it?"

"Y-yes. It is."

Then her heart practically stopped as he reached out...

And took her hand in his own, her hand fitting perfectly in his own. _'H-He's holding my hand! I think I'm going to faint!'_

She turned beet red at this, but then realizing that if she wanted to have Kazuki as her own, she was going to have to step up her game. And so, with her heart feeling like it was going to explode out of her chest, she intertwined her fingers in his own, handing him back the tea with the other-

Just as he leaned in to give her another kiss on the lips, drawing several curious stares from passerby as they looked ay the young couple.

Ah young love...

THIS time, as he began to pull away, Rin had enough courage to actually kiss him back, and he ceased his movement as she slowly, and shyly, as if she was afraid he would reject her, slid her tongue into his mouth, letting out a soft whimper as he released her hand, to place both hands on the sides of her waist, gently digging his fingers into her curves, drawing off another soft whimper as he leaned in, angling his head to the right, as they both closed their eyes and savored the moment, soaking up each other.

--

As they trekked to school, hand in hand, Rin dare to venture the question that had been slowly nagging at her since he had first kissed her. "Kazuki-san, why me? Er...I mean why did you kiss me yesterday?" Then realizing what she could have meant by that she quickly corrected herself, beet red now as he chuckled at her cute blush. "N-Not t-that I didn't like it!"

Then he gave his answer, another wistful tone etched into his voice. "Well, I guess its because you never really threw yourself at me like Kuriko always does. That kinda scares me actually...

She giggled at that, knowing how the blond was always trying to get him alone with her so she could work her seductive ways on him.

As if she was going to let THAT happen now! There was no WAY she was letting that blond slut near her Kazuki!

_'Hmm, perhaps this was how Yuna always felt. But for Yuna, that was times 100!'_

But he went on, interrupting her protective thoughts. "And every time you see me with another girl, you haven't clobbered me like Yuna always does. Ouch." He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, the spot where he was usually always bopped, wincing in imaginary pain. "You were just...THERE I guess, and you allowed me to warm up to you, despite the fact that all these other girls were vying for my affections."

Now he smiled charmingly at her again, making her heat beat like a drum once more. "Plus you always made those delicious boxed lunches!"

THAT made her giggle, as the school appeared in sight. "Reall? Did you mean all that? Is my cooking really that good Kazuki-san?"

"Yeah! You're a great cook Rin-chan! Maybe you could teach me sometime? And stop with the honorifics, you don't need to use them, on you're boyfriend."

She blushed again, as she now dared to rest her head against his shoulder, which he shifted to use to wrap his arm about her waist, drawing another cute blush from her. _'He said it out loud! Take THAT Yuna!'_ " H-Hai, Kazuki-kun. I'd like that."

Again he smiled at her blush, and she thanked Kami for blessing her with such good luck. "You're really cute when you blush, you know that Rin?"

She felt like she had died and gone to Heaven! This was all so much for her, and it was like a dream come true!

"Y-You think so?"

He gave her another kiss on the lips, causing the two of them to halt just outside the school doors, despite the fact that they were late now. "I KNOW so."

Good Lord! She loved it when he kissed her! She felt like she was addicted to this wodnerful boy!

Then he broke said form of affection, and with a nervous sigh, turned to open the door to their classroom, as he placed his hand on the door handle. "Ready?"

She gulped nervously, knowing full well, the reaction they were likely to get from the class of 2-B. Scared somewhat, she placed her hand atop his, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "R-Ready."

Together, they opened the door...


End file.
